Valve change the CS2 map pool: Train removed, Anubis returns with Premier Season 4
Valve have officially confirmed changes to the current CS2 map pool. Train has been removed from the active map pool, while Anubis has been brought back. Anubis is expected to return with the start of Premier Season 4 on January 19 and will also be available at BLAST Bounty Winter 2026: Closed Qualifier, which begins on January 13.
Map pool changes
Train was added to the map pool in January 2025. Over the course of a year, Train was played 1,942 times, while Anubis — which was removed in June 2025 — was played 1,552 times. In 2024, Anubis was the second most popular map on HLTV (across all tiers), behind only Ancient. Perhaps the map has been reworked, or perhaps Valve simply decided to bring back a familiar option. Either way, this suggests that the Train experiment did not work out.
End of Season 3
On January 19, the third Premier season in Counter-Strike 2 officially comes to an end, and Season 4 begins on the same day. The new season will bring several updates, including the return of Anubis to the active map pool. Importantly, Anubis will not only be featured in Premier but will also be used at BLAST Bounty Winter 2026: Closed Qualifier, giving teams extra motivation to adapt to the map as quickly as possible ahead of the tournament.
As a result, the first half of the 2026 competitive CS2 season will take place with Anubis back in the map pool, as the attempt to reintroduce Train appears to have failed. As for Cache, it seems Valve believe it is either still too early to add it back, or the map is currently in the final stages of development.
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